Star Wars Battlefront II is a 2017 action shooter video game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is based on the Star Wars franchise, and is the fourth main installment of the Star Wars: Battlefront series and a sequel to the 2015 reboot of the series. The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes and includes more content than its predecessor. The single-player campaign is set between the films Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, and follows an original character, Iden Versio, the commander of an Imperial special ops strike force dubbed Inferno Squad. Most of the story takes place in the franchise's fictional galaxy during the final year of the Galactic Civil War, before the Empire's definitive defeat at the Battle of Jakku. Development of the title began by May 2016. The then-recently established studio Motive Studios was responsible for the single player campaign, and Criterion Games was responsible for the starfighter gameplay and mechanics. It was soon announced that the title would feature content from the sequel and prequel trilogies of films.
Prior to launch, the game came under widespread criticism when players discovered that the game's loot boxes was tied to progression, which could give players substantial gameplay advantages if purchased with real money. EA initially defended the lootboxes, leading to further controversy, though the company eventually disabled microtransactions in the game. Following launch, a new progression system was introduced.
The game was released worldwide on November 17, 2017, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. Battlefront II received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the multiplayer, gameplay, balancing, visuals, and variety, but criticism for its single-player modes, campaign, microtransactions, and progression system. After its release, the game received numerous content additions through free updates, some of them tie-ins to recently-released content, in an attempt to repair its reputation after launch, which brought in a large number of new players. These updates ended on April 29, 2020, after Electronic Arts concluded that the game had reached its desired number of players and had substantially improved since the initial release. A Celebration Edition of the game, which includes all in-game cosmetic options, was released on December 5, 2019.
Gameplay
Star Wars Battlefront II is a third- and first-person shooter with both single-player and multiplayer game modes. Different gameplay options are available; players can partake in ground battles as soldiers or space battles as starfighters. It includes three distinct eras from the Star Wars saga: the Clone Wars, with battles between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems; the Galactic Civil War, with battles between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire; and the war between the Resistance and the First Order. Each faction has its type of soldiers (e.g. clone troopers for the Republic, battle droids for the CIS, and stormtroopers for the Empire and the First Order) and starfighters. While the soldiers have identical controls and differ only in appearance, the starfighters feature unique abilities that offer a more varied gameplay style.
Battles take place across a variety of maps, which can vary based on the era. At launch, the game featured a total of 15 locations from the Star Wars universe, including Kamino, Kashyyyk, Naboo, Mos Eisley, Yavin IV, Hoth, Cloud City, Endor, the Death Star II, Jakku, Takodana, and Starkiller Base, as well as some space-exclusive locations, namely Ryloth, Fondor, and the Unknown Regions. Since then, eight more maps have been added: Crait, Jabba's Palace, Kessel, Geonosis, Felucia, Ajan Kloss, Scarif, and another space-only location, D'Qar. Some of the ground locations are also limited to certain game modes.
Classes Battlefront II features class-based gameplay. All factions have the same four soldiers classes—Assault, Heavy, Officer, and Specialist—and three starfighter classes—Fighter, Interceptor, and Bomber (although the Resistance and the First Order do not feature the Bomber class). The ground battles feature additional Reinforcement classes, which are unlocked by trading in 'battle points', earned from defeating enemies and completing map-specific objectives. All factions have three soldier Reinforcements—the Enforcer, Aerial, and Infiltrator—and two vehicle Reinforcements—the Speeder and Armor. The four standard trooper classes do not require battle points to use. The Republic, CIS, Rebels, Empire, and First Order have an additional Reinforcement class—the Artillery—which is featured only in specific maps for the Galactic Assault mode (e.g. the MTT for the Separatists, which is available only on Naboo and Kashyyyk).
All classes can be leveled up except Artillery. After reaching a new level, the player is awarded a Skill Point that can be used to unlock or upgrade a Star Card. Star Cards are the main form of progression in Battlefront II, and can be equipped on a class to increase one of their stats, such as health regeneration or damage output, or to replace one of their abilities with a new one. Some star cards can only be unlocked once a certain level is reached. Up to three Star Cards can be equipped at the same time for each class. Every class has individual star cards that are only available for that class, with the exception of a few basic ones, such as extra health.
Players can also customize their soldier classes by purchasing new appearances or unlocking new weapons through milestones. Although the game features limited weapon customization, each weapon is unique and offers a different playstyle. Furthermore, players can unlock weapon attachments, which can alter a weapon's stats like range and fire rate. The Reinforcement classes can also be leveled up and customized, but their weapons and abilities cannot be changed.
Heroes Aside from the basic soldier and Reinforcement classes, players can take on the role of several heroes or villains based on iconic Star Wars characters. Unlike Battlefront, heroes are an actual class (rather than a bonus) and can be leveled up and receive new appearances. In multiplayer, heroes are only available in the Galactic Assault and Supremacy modes, and, similarly to Reinforcements, are unlocked by trading in 4000 'battle points'. In the former mode, players can select any hero from the roster offered by the game; in the latter, only era-specific heroes are available. Excluding major events, where this limit is lifted, both sides are allocated a maximum of two heroes in Supremacy, and three in Galactic Assault. There are also several hero-centered game modes, like Heroes vs. Villains and Hero Showdown where only heroes can be used without the aforementioned limitations.
Synopsis Iden Versio (Janina Gavankar), commander of the Galactic Empire's elite special forces unit, Inferno Squad, is held captive aboard the Invincible Faith, a Rebel Alliance Star Cruiser. Iden commands her ID10 droid, Dio, to free her from confinement, before she erases an Imperial transmission detailing the Emperor's plans to ambush the rebels on Endor. After escaping out the airlock into deep space, Iden is picked up by the Corvus, Inferno Squad's flagship, where she debriefs the mission's success to her squadmates, Del Meeko (T. J. Ramini) and Gideon Hask (Paul Blackthorne).
During the Battle of Endor, Inferno Squad eliminates a rebel patrol guarding the Death Star II's destroyed shield generator, before suddenly witnessing the destruction of the Death Star in Endor's skies. Inferno Squad escapes the moon before being overrun by rebel forces, and the squad lands on the Star Destroyer Eviscerator, commanded by Iden's father, Admiral Garrick Versio (Anthony Skordi). The Admiral informs his daughter about the Emperor's death, while a messenger droid conveys the late Emperor's final command to initiate Operation: Cinder. Admiral Versio then sends Iden and Hask to an Imperial shipyard in Fondor's orbit, to protect the Star Destroyer Dauntless, which houses experimental satellites vital to the success of Operation: Cinder. Meanwhile, Del heads to Pillio to destroy one of the Emperor's hidden vaults, where he encounters Luke Skywalker (Matthew Mercer). The duo team up to fend off the local wildlife and access the vault, containing the Emperor's spoils of conquest, one of which Luke takes for himself. The pair part amicably, as Del begins to question the Empire's goals and motives.
Inferno Squad's next assignment is to head to Vardos, Iden's homeworld, where they are tasked to extract Imperial Protectorate Gleb, just as Operation: Cinder is about to begin. As Cinder's satellites slowly ravage Vardos in storms, Iden and Del, disillusioned by the Empire's actions, abandon the mission to instead rescue civilians, causing Hask to betray them. The duo escapes to the Corvus, now traitors to the Empire. Seeking out the rebellion, they meet General Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), who gives them the choice of helping stop Operation: Cinder, or escaping to start new lives. Choosing to help, they aid Princess Leia Organa (Misty Lee) in protecting Naboo, destroying Cinder's satellites, and reactivating the planet's defenses. After Naboo is liberated, Iden and Del officially defect to the New Republic.
Months later, the new Inferno Squad — Iden, Del, and rebel agent Shriv Suurgav (Dan Donohue) — head to Takodana to find General Han Solo (John Armstrong), who went missing during his mission to extract critical data from an Imperial defector. After Han and the defector make their way past a stormtrooper squad to the Millennium Falcon, Inferno Squad arrives to help them escape the planet. The data reveals that Admiral Versio is commanding Imperial operations on Bespin and Sullust. On Bespin, Iden and Del attempt to capture the Admiral, but are led into a trap by Hask. The pair escape, destroying a Star Destroyer fueling station in the process. On Sullust, Lando and Shriv investigate and destroy a hidden Imperial weapons factory. With both operations crippled, the Imperial fleet makes a last stand at Jakku. During the battle, Iden shoots down Hask and boards the Eviscerator, intending to rescue her father. Admiral Versio decides to go down with his ship, feeling obligated to die with the Empire he fought to protect, and urges Iden to escape and live a new life, commending her for seeing the Empire's weaknesses. Iden takes an escape pod and reunites with Del and Shriv. Iden and Del embrace and kiss, as the battle marks the end of the Galactic Empire.
Three decades later, Del is captured on Pillio by Gleb, who hands him over to Kylo Ren (Matthew Wood) and the First Order. Kylo interrogates Del for the map to Luke Skywalker, before leaving him to Hask, now a First Order officer. Hask expresses disgust at Del for choosing to start a family with Iden instead of remaining a soldier, before executing Del. Hask then tells Gleb that the New Republic cannot find out about "Project Resurrection" and orders her to leave the Corvus on Pillio as bait to lure Iden out of hiding.
Resurrection Shriv, now an agent for the Resistance, discovers the abandoned Corvus and informs Iden and her daughter Zay (Brittany Volcy), revealing that Del had been helping the Resistance investigate rumors of mass disappearances that may be connected to Project Resurrection. They head to Athulla, where Del was last seen, and are ambushed by a Jinata Security fleet, which they destroy. The survivors admit that they had been kidnapping children on behalf of the First Order and that Project Resurrection had been moved to Vardos.